Valentine’s Day Breakfast Recipes

5 Breakfast-in-Bed Recipes to Impress This Valentine’s Day

PrintBarbara Pavone

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Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to show your significant other just how much you care, and while it’s true that you can’t go wrong with flowers, chocolates, or one of these sweet gifts, why not up the ante and make something for them instead? Like, say, breakfast in bed?

We spoke to some of the country’s coolest chefs to bring you five seriously easy and delicious dishes that are perfect for every skill level. Treat your love to one of these breakfasts, and not only are you sure to impress them, but you’ll also score serious brownie points for weeks to come, and you’ll get to enjoy an amazing breakfast yourself. That’s what we’d call a win-win-win.

The Cheesecake Factory

Pancakes are always a good idea, especially if you make them from scratch and take them up a notch with an unexpected flavor combo. These lemon ricotta pancakes come courtesy of The Cheesecake Factory and, as Chief Culinary Officer and EVP of Kitchen Operations David Moore explains, they’re a “sophisticated twist on something that everyone loves. Making something from scratch is the ultimate way to show someone how much you love them.” Plus, the pancakes are “warm and comforting — and they make the whole house smell amazing!”

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp Kosher salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 cups fresh ricotta cheese

4 tbsp granulated sugar

2 tbsp lemon zest (minced)

2 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

Instructions:

Place the flour, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir the ingredients together until evenly combined. Set aside.

Pour the buttermilk into another mixing bowl. Add the eggs, vanilla, and oil. Then add the

ricotta cheese, sugar, and lemon zest. Using a wire whisk, gently stir the ingredients together until evenly combined.

Add the flour mix into the bowl with the buttermilk and ricotta cheese. Continue to fold the ingredients together until evenly combined with a few small lumps remaining in the batter. Do not overmix the batter.

Heat 1/4 tsp of vegetable oil on a griddle or in a large non-stick pan. Using a 4 oz ladle, pour the batter onto the griddle or into the pan, forming one pancake that is 6” in diameter.

Cook the pancakes for approximately 2 1/2 minutes or until the edges begin to dry and puff up. Little air bubbles will start appearing over the top surface of the pancakes.

Flip each pancake over and continue to cook for another 1 1/2 minutes or until done. Dig in!

La Cafette

Looking to impress your special someone while still sticking to your resolutions? Then this one’s for you! Created by Sylvain Aubry, the executive chef Brooklyn’s La Cafette, this chia bowl is super easy to make, nutritious, and delicious, and it’s totally Insta-worthy. Best of all, you can have it ready in less than 15 minutes, or prepare it the night before and hide it in the fridge so you can take it easy come February 14.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup almond, coconut, or cow’s milk

2 tsps chia seeds

1/2 tsp honey

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Lime and lemon zest

1/2 tsp agave

Fresh fruit (bananas, strawberries, and blueberries recommended)

Instructions:

Combine the milk, chia seeds, honey, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Stir contents together.

Let the mixture sit for 15-20 minutes.

Add agave, lemon, and lime zest. Top with fresh fruits, then serve.

L’Artusi

If you want to make it look like you spent all morning slaving away in the kitchen after watching a marathon of “MasterChef” (but without actually having to do either), Joe Vigorito, executive chef of NYC’s L’Artusi, has just the recipe. “This is a go-to dish when you want to impress someone without having to stress out about a complicated dish or hard-to-find ingredients,” he promises. “Many of these ingredients can be found in the fridge or pantry, and what’s great about this dish is that it’s super adaptable. Make it extra special by adding their favorite vegetable/meat combo.”

Heat a 12" cast-iron pan on a medium flame on a grill. Add pancetta and olive oil, and render until pancetta is crispy.

Add sliced garlic and chopped rosemary, and cook until garlic begins to brown.

Add tomatoes and crush/break them apart with a wooden spoon or tongs.

Season with red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt. Go sparingly on the salt because the pancetta will be salty!

Cook until flavors meld and sauce begins to thicken, about 10 minutes.

Add parsley and basil. Stir.

Crack eggs directly into the sauce. Making small divots in the sauce will keep the eggs in place. Season the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Close the grill and cook until whites are set and yolks are still runny, about 6-8 minutes.

While the eggs are cooking, brush your bread with olive oil and grill it on both sides, until golden brown. Rub the bread with a garlic clove while it’s still hot.

Serve hot, being sure to get plenty of the sauce, topped with greens and grated cheese. Dunk the bread in any leftover sauce. Enjoy!

@afashionistasguide

Valentine’s Day is all about indulging, and if your love has a sweet tooth, then they’re sure to go (hazel)nuts for this decadent breakfast dessert. Created by chef Nicolas Caicedo of The Williamsburg Hotel, this super sweet yet super naughty take on French toast will earn you major points, all in just 15 minutes.

Cut 4 thick slices of brioche and let them soak in the liquid mix for 3 minutes (or as long as it takes for the bread to absorb the mix).

Bring a skillet or pan to medium heat and add butter. Once the butter begins to melt, coating the pan, add the slices of bread into the pan and quickly sear each side for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, prepare 2 plates.

Remove and place 2 slices of brioche on each plate. Cover one side of the top slice with Nutella, add more as desired.

Slice strawberries and place on top of the Nutella. Finish with whipped cream and finely chopped hazelnuts.

Cook your burger patties on the grill. If you don’t have a grill, use a flat nonstick or cast-iron pan. Set heat to medium, cook until almost medium-rare, then top the patty with white American cheese. When the cheese has melted, remove the patty from the grill and let it rest.

Take a hot nonstick skillet set to medium heat, swirl in a little butter, crack eggs into the pan, and wait about 1 minute until the outer edges turn opaque. Cover and lower the heat. Wait 4 minutes for sunny side up, 5 minutes for medium yolk, 6 minutes for hard yolk.

Take 4 rolls, slice through the side to form top and bottom buns. Preheat a nonstick skillet to medium-high heat, swirl in a little butter, and place the cut sides of the Hawaiian rolls face down. Toast until lightly golden brown, then remove.

To assemble your Little Mule, take the bottom of a roll, add chipotle aioli, avocado slices, and a burger patty topped with melted white American cheese. Top the patty with pickled jalapeño slices and a fried egg. Take the top of the bun, add a bit more chipotle aioli, then cap off your burger. Dig in!

Chipotle Aoli*
Take 1/4 of a cup of chipotle peppers, add 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons of lime juice, and combine in a food processor until smooth.

Toby’s Estate

No breakfast would be complete without a piping hot cup of coffee. Brewing a perfect cup of java worthy of any coffeehouse in the country may sound like a challenge, but it’s actually rather simple. As the pros at Brooklyn-based Toby’s Estate reveal, it just takes a few minutes and a couple of simple steps.

Ingredients:

34g ground coffee, coarse

500g hot water

Instructions:

Add your preferred ground coffee to a French press. Start a timer and slowly pour in 100g of hot water.

Let the coffee “bloom” in the water for 45 seconds, then slowly pour in the remaining 400g of hot water.